I had a chance to look at the new December 2015 issue of National Geographic and it was already in a state of change. The scientific magazine and other subsidiaries were bought by Twenty First Century Fox and the last news was that pink slips were being issued.
Quite probably the reason the pink slips were being issued was because of a prior issue concentrated almost exclusively on global warming. Apparently someone in the old employment pool wanted to send a message. With National Geographic’s reputation for showing global warming in all its stark reality, and nobody did it better, it was only a matter of time before they had to be shut down. In a prior story, I predicted that would be the likely result of the takeover, and worse, all of science would be manipulated for mass consumption. With an inability to confront the truth, the obvious way to resolve the problem is to buy the media and change the message. Print media has been purchased for exactly that reason and National Geographic also has been propagandized.
The December issue had, for its feature article an examination of Mary, titled “The Worlds Most Powerful Woman.” The new National Geographic will likely focus on religion again in the future. That is a positive topic for the Republican base. The article had a chart and map showing where Mary has been seen throughout the world.
The second article was about the science of taste, titled “The Science of Delicious.” The scientific articles must continue but they will likely be topics acceptable to business interests. They are likely to be similar to this one, in which the scientific topic is important to sell products.
The third article, titled “New New York,” focused on showcasing sky scrapers. Such important topics for the wealthy, showcasing “progress” will probably continue but very little regarding environmental degradation will likely grace its pages.
The fourth article was about Haiti, titled “On Its Own Terms,” and was very similar to other travel articles of the past. It may have been just a coincidence, but it seemed to highlighted how bad things are outside of the United States.
Lastly, there was an article about leopards, titled “Out of the Shadows,” It was not the usual National Geographic article about the scarcity of the animal and photographs that would indicate and generate concern to address their numbers. This article had a picture of a leopard attacking humans on p. 125 and another eating meat from a fresh kill on pp. 132-133. The New National Geographic is likely to show animals, particularly large game animals in such a light in the future.
Nowhere was there anything that I could find that would show that 21st Century Fox now owned the magazine. However, it was clear from the statement from Gary E. Knell, that the change had occurred and Mr. Knell was trying to reassure the readers that little would change and maintain readership. He announced the creation of “National Geographic Partners” “a few months ago.”
A quotation from his “preface” stated...
“We’ll work to protect wildlife through initiatives to save elephants, big cats and more. We’ll document the at risk species on Earth with the goal of helping to save them. We’ll push for healthier oceans. We’ll search for new ways to preserve ancient treasures. We’ll collaborate with educators to ensure that our children are geographically literate and better able to take their places as the global citizens of tomorrow. We’ll nurture and support the world’s best researchers, explorers, and educators. And we’ll find new and powerful ways to share all our work though story telling, journalism, and photography.”
That sounds reassuring. I looked for “global warming” but, not surprisingly, it was not there. Neither were environmental issues other than big game and luckily “at risk species.” It did emphasize the necessity to be “global citizens,” solidifying off-shoring as a reality. When reading between the lines, it can be ascertained what the New National Geographic will not be doing. Some directions are already hinted at in the first issue, despite the first issue’s concern of maintaining existing readership. As that concern dissipates, the goals are likely to dissipate as well. The “best researchers, may not be those showing that global warming is man made or that there are environmental consequences to air and water pollutants.
The most concerning goal is that the New National Geographic will make efforts to collaborate with educators, dispensing the new scientific and political order of FOX.